The present disclosure relates to gaming machines, networks, systems and methods for providing games of chance.
Gaming in the United States is divided into Class I, Class II and Class III games. Class I gaming includes social games played for minimal prizes, or traditional ceremonial games. Class II gaming includes bingo games, pull tab games if played in the same location as bingo games, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games similar to bingo. Class III gaming includes any game that is not a Class I or Class II game, such as a game of chance typically offered in non-Indian, state-regulated casinos. Many games of chance that are played on gaming terminals fall into the Class II and Class III categories of games.
Various games, particularly the Class II and Class III categories of games, can be implemented as server-based games in a server-client system. Server-based games are generally those in which the games and capabilities of a gaming terminal depend on a central server. The terminal may download game applications from the central server or may rely on the central server to run the games. In a games-on-demand system, a player can operate a gaming terminal to request a particular game for playing. In a download configuration, the requested game is downloaded from the central server to the gaming terminal, and then executed on the gaming terminal. In a server-based configuration, on the other hand, the requested game is executed on the server, and the player interacts with the server to play the game. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,549, “Database Driven Online Distributed Tournament System” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,602, “Slim Terminal Gaming System,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference, describe server-based systems where no processing occurs on the gaming terminal. The game is executed on the central server, and the gaming terminal operates as an IO device for a player to interact with the central server. The game play, meter tracking, and other game functions are all carried out on the central server.
Central determination gaming refers to any gaming method or system in which a central computer determines game outcomes, regardless of player input on a gaming terminal. Most conventional central determination systems are used for Class II gaming. For example, an electronic bingo game may be implemented as a central determination game, in which a number of gaming terminals are in communication with the central computer. The central computer draws the bingo numbers from a pool of outcomes to determine who wins.
Morris et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,035, entitled “Video Gaming System With Fixed Pool of Winning Plays and Global Pool Access,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a central determination gaming system in which a central processor or computer generates game plays. A plurality of master processing units are coupled to the central computer. Each master processing unit is also coupled to one or more gaming terminals. In this way, a master processing unit serves as an interface between the central processor and the gaming terminals to manages game play requests from the gaming terminals, and to distribute game plays from the central processor to the gaming terminals.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,035, ('035 patent), one purpose of the master processing units is to handle network traffic. This is because conventional gaming systems of that era having a single central processor, such as the system described in the '035 patent, do not have the bandwidth and speed required to handle the volume of data transferred in a casino with a multitude of electronic gaming terminals. Thus, conventional gaming systems such as the system described in the '035 patent require two levels of processors or computers, namely the central game processor and master processing units. Both the central processor and master processing units are required to perform the computations necessary to generate game plays, and distribute those game plays to gaming terminals. In addition, the system described in the '035 patent requires the hierarchy of gaming terminals communicating directly with master processing units, and the master processing units communicating directly with the central processor. The central determination system of the '035 patent does not provide any alternative configurations that might be better suited to certain casino and hotel environments, for instance, where the gaming terminals are configured to communicate directly with one another. Moreover, the system of the '035 patent does not offer effective techniques for monitoring game play usage at the various gaming terminals in the system.
What are needed are flexible methods and systems to optimize the generation, distribution, and management of game outcomes among gaming terminals in various gaming system configurations and implementations.